Colquitt County Police Records

Police records in Colquitt County are held by the sheriff's office in Moultrie. This south Georgia county has a population of around 45,000 and sits in the heart of agricultural country. The sheriff's office is the primary law enforcement agency for the county and keeps records of incidents, arrests, accidents, and jail bookings. The city of Moultrie has its own police department as well. Anyone can request copies of police records from either agency through the Georgia Open Records Act. This page covers how to get records from Colquitt County, what types are available, and where to find state-level resources that may hold additional files.

Colquitt County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Rod Howell leads the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office. The mailing address is PO Box 188, Moultrie, GA 31776. You can reach the office at (229) 616-7430 during business hours. The sheriff's office handles patrol, criminal investigations, the county jail, and records management for the entire county outside city limits. All reports filed by deputies are stored at this office.

Moultrie is the county seat and the main city in Colquitt County. The Moultrie Police Department handles calls and keeps records for incidents within the city. If the event you are trying to get records for happened inside Moultrie city limits, you should contact the city police department. For incidents outside town, the sheriff's office is the right agency. A quick phone call can clear up which agency has the report you need. The sheriff's office staff at (229) 616-7430 can usually tell you where to look even if the report is not in their files.

Other small towns in the county like Norman Park, Doerun, and Berlin may or may not have their own police. For most of the county, the sheriff's office is the agency of record.

Requesting Records in Colquitt County

Georgia's Open Records Act under O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 gives the public the right to inspect and copy records held by government agencies. The Colquitt County Sheriff's Office and the Moultrie Police Department both fall under this law. You do not need to explain your reason for asking. Just describe the records you want with enough detail for the staff to find them. A date, name, location, or case number will speed up the process.

You can make your request in person at the sheriff's office in Moultrie. Written requests by mail are also accepted at the PO Box address. Phone requests work for simple inquiries. Written requests are preferred because they create a record of your submission, which is useful if there are any delays or disputes. Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71, the agency must respond within three business days. That response could be the records, a cost estimate, or a timeline for when they will be ready.

Walk-in requests for simple reports are often handled the same day. Staff can pull a single incident or crash report while you wait if they know the date and details. More involved requests will take longer. The office will let you know what to expect.

Colquitt County Records Costs

Copy fees follow Georgia state law. Paper copies cost $0.10 per page. The first quarter hour of staff search time is free. After that, the office can charge based on the hourly pay of the lowest-paid worker who can do the task. If total fees will go past $25, the agency must let you know before doing the work. You can agree to the cost, narrow your request to reduce it, or cancel the request entirely.

You have the right to inspect records in person at no cost. That means you can visit the office, look through the file, and then decide which pages to copy. This keeps your bill down if you are not sure exactly what you need. There is no charge for looking at records. The fee only applies when you ask for copies or when staff spend time pulling and preparing records for you.

Note: Most single-report requests in Colquitt County cost just a few dollars in copy fees.

Types of Colquitt County Police Reports

The sheriff's office keeps several categories of records on file. Incident reports document crimes, disturbances, and calls for service. They include the date, time, location, and a summary of what took place. Arrest records show who was booked, the charges filed, and the date of the arrest. Accident reports cover vehicle crashes on county roads and state routes. Booking records from the county jail track intake details for people who have been jailed.

Georgia law under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 sets the rules for what is public and what is restricted. Initial incident reports and initial arrest reports are always available to the public. That is the case even during an active investigation. Detailed investigation files connected to an open case can be held back until the case wraps up. Social Security numbers, medical details, and other sensitive personal information are redacted from all copies before they are released. Juvenile records are sealed under state law and are not accessible through a standard open records request.

Crash reports have their own process. If you were involved in the accident, you can get your report with no extra steps. Third parties who were not in the crash may need to provide a written statement explaining why they need the report. Georgia law gives motor vehicle crash reports additional privacy protections because of the personal and insurance information they contain.

State Resources for Colquitt County

Several state-level systems may hold records related to incidents in Colquitt County. The EPORTS system from the Georgia Department of Public Safety is the go-to tool for crash reports filed by Georgia State Patrol troopers. If a trooper handled a crash on a state highway in the county, the report is in EPORTS rather than the sheriff's files. You can search for and buy reports through the online portal.

The state EPORTS system is used across Georgia for all Georgia State Patrol crash reports, including those from Colquitt County.

Always check EPORTS when a state trooper was the responding officer to a crash in Colquitt County, since those reports are filed through the state system.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation handles open records for cases the GBI investigated. If the GBI assisted the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office on a major case, the GBI's records go through their own request process. The BuyCrash portal is another option for searching and purchasing accident reports from multiple agencies. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association website can help you confirm the current contact information for the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office.

When a Request Is Denied

Records requests in Colquitt County usually go through without trouble. But if the sheriff's office or another agency denies your request, you have options under Georgia law. Ask for the denial in writing. The agency must cite the specific code section that allows them to withhold the records. A vague refusal is not enough.

If you believe the denial is not valid, you can take the matter to superior court. A judge can order the records released if the agency does not have a proper legal basis for refusing. If the court rules in your favor, the agency may be required to pay your attorney fees and court costs. That said, most issues are resolved before it ever gets to court. A polite follow-up call or a more specific request usually gets things moving again. The staff at (229) 616-7430 are there to help, and a conversation often clears up any confusion about what can be released.

Nearby County Police Records

Colquitt County borders several other south Georgia counties. If an incident took place near a county line, the report might be on file with a neighboring sheriff's office. Check with the right agency to find what you need.